Konami isn’t doing that well if we’re honest. Things went south the moment Kojima decided to leave the company. Without a decent Metal Gear Solid game, Konami had to figure out what they are willing to create in the future. The answer? Fewer games at the same time while making sure the big franchises get the needed attention. PES 2017 is the perfect example of this new strategy and is perhaps the best PES game in years.
Better graphics
Let’s start by stating the obvious first, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 finally looks good. Konami decided to stick with their trusted FOX engine and that’s perhaps the best thing they could have done. It seems like the company learned a lot from their mistakes in PES 2016 and made sure the players couldn’t complain about the graphics this year. PES 2017 still looks slightly inferior to EA’s FIFA but thanks to some smart techniques it’s barely noticeable this year.
The colors are way more vibrant, the expressions of the players are finally on a current generation level and the animations of the players feel natural. Every player is looking at the ball while minding his own business on the field. It all feels more natural and it looks like you would expect a soccer game to look like.
That doesn’t take away that the engine isn’t flawless; the collision detection isn’t on point yet so you’ll see some players running into each other from time to time. It’s nothing game breaking and it’s something we also came across with in that other big soccer game. That being said, kudos to the development team for creating a PES game this good-looking.
The main modes
PES has always been known for the two big main modes, they return in PES 2017 as well of course. Let’s discuss them here first:
PES Master League: PES wouldn’t be PES without a Master League, so needless to say but this mode does make a return in the 2017 version. Once again you can start as the manager of your favorite team and train them from scratch. New is the ability to add young players to your team and to close deals in a real-time environment. This makes things a lot more intense since you’ll need to grab the contract in a set amount of time. If you fail to sign a player before the time runs out, you won’t be able to add him to your team. This makes it feel like you’re really the manager of the team and you’ll need to handle stress the right way. It’s a great new addition that only adds to the already good immersion of this mode.
A lot of improvements
Become a legend: Of course, this mode also makes a return, enabling you to create your own player and reach the absolute top of soccer together with your team. The character creation adds a lot of options this year so you’ll really be able to create the player of your dream. Besides playing soccer, there isn’t that much to do, especially when you compare it to the great career mode of FIFA 17. Konami could have invested a bit more in the gameplay of this mode but that being said, it’s still a great and fun mode to play, even if it lacks more depth.
The computer learns from your mistakes
The biggest innovation in PES 2017 is the adaptive AI, which means that the computer will study your style and will adapt to it. If you’re always attacking from one side of the field, for example, you’ll notice that the AI will start defending that side better. It works the other way around as well. If you’re not that good in defending your goal, the AI will grab this opportunity to penetrate your defense and to score a goal. The AI is way better than PES 2016 and this was a needed change without a doubt.
Thanks to the stronger AI, it really feels like you’re playing a soccer match on a high level instead of playing it on the streets with your neighbors. Nothing feels scripted this time and you’ll really need to use your soccer skills and strategies to score a goal, making it way more rewarding than ever before.
The game also plays very fluently and is way more dynamic than ever before. Keeping your momentum is a lot easier in PES 2017 and making combinations isn’t something that’s based on luck only, you’ll really need to use your skills, resulting in a very realistic and fun soccer experience.
Great online support
The biggest online mode remained the MyClub mode and is by far the most played mode on the online fields. In here, you can create your own club and challenge others to gain more XP and better players. The best thing about the 2017 version is that new players will get a fair shot at becoming the best team. Instead of being matched against better players, new players will get a lot of great welcoming bonuses and more coins to make their players better. Also note that the Scout cards return so you can easily sign some of the world’ best players to your team, balancing the odds of actually winning a match against a better player.
The online modes work incredibly well and we’ve seen a lot of different players enjoying themselves on the online fields. Missing out on some of the major licenses doesn’t seem to be a big deal since it’s not holding back the players to actually enjoy the game for what it is. Konami still has trouble to compete against the giant that is EA but it seems like they handled the lack of licenses just fine. Creating your team using unlicensed players from teams without the official names really doesn’t take away anything from the great soccer experience.
Conclusion:
Konami dared to innovate where it was necessary and kept the things that worked, trying to fine-tune the experience. It’s not perfect yet but PES 2017 certainly offers a great soccer experience. Thanks to the innovations and new animations, this is the most fluent PES we have ever played and that’s saying a lot! Don’t always go for the big players but give this PES 2017 a shot if you’re a fan of soccer, you won’t be disappointed!
